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News in brief 26/02/16

The Spanish Ros Roca Environment group, which owns waste vehicle manufacturer Dennis Eagle, has announced that it is to merge with Terberg Environmental, a subsidiary of the Netherlands-based Terberg Group that specialises in the production and distribution of loading systems for the waste and recycling industry.

The new company will be called Terberg RosRoca Group Ltd and will be based in Warwick.

All of the companies forming each business, including Dennis Eagle and Terberg Matec UK, will become subsidiaries of the new company, though they will retain their existing trading names.

The company will have a supervisory board structure representing the shareholders, and a management board comprising executives from both companies which will be led by Godfried Terberg as Chief Executive.

A joint statement issued by the companies said: ‘This is an exciting time for both companies and we are looking forward to building on our existing business relationships and to deliver outstanding products and services to you for many years to come.’

Derry signs up to Bin-Ovation app

Derry City and Strabane District Council is trying to make recycling easier for its residents by implementing Bin-Ovation, a new mobile app that tells users which bin products should be put into.

Available on smart phones and tablets in Northern Ireland, Bin-Ovation provides information on how to treat hundreds of household waste items, giving directions on which bin an item should go into or whether it should go to a household waste recycling centre. The app also adapts to different council areas to give residents from each region the correct recycling information.

The app also provides information on how to reduce use of waste items and has a bin collection day reminder service.

The council’s Waste and Recycling Officer Julie Hannaway said: “We believe the Bin-Ovation App will help improve recycling rates and allow councils to communicate with the house holder more cost effectively, quickly and without having to print materials to inform of new updates.”

WEEE recycling event to take place in Cambridge

A two-day recycling event will be taking place at the University of Cambridge, providing a free e-waste drop off for businesses, colleges, residents and schools where all items collected will be recycled.

Cambridge Business Improvement District (BID), Cambridge City Council, the European Recycling Platform (ERP) and the University of Cambridge will host the event. All types of household electronic waste will be accepted for free and staff will be on hand to help with unloading.

The previous four events have recycled nearly 100 tonnes of electronic waste. According to research by the United Nations University in 2014, the UK is the fifth largest producer of waste electronics. On average, each person in the UK generates 23.5kg of e-waste each year whilst recycling just under 8kg of that waste.

Executive Councillor for Environment and Waste at Cambridge City Council, Peter Roberts, commented: “It’s very likely that most households have reusable or recyclable items, large and small, gathering dust. We ask residents to dispose of their electrical and electronic appliances that they no longer need in a responsible manner and this is an ideal opportunity.”

The event takes place at the Sidgwick Site Car Park on Monday 29 February (7.30am-5pm) and Tuesday 1 March (7.20am-3.30pm).

More information about electronic recycling can be found at the ERP website.

Carbon8 gets green light for new aggregates facility

Carbon8 Aggregates has won planning permission to build a new £4 million manufacturing facility on the outskirts of Leeds.

Plans for the 13-acre site, which include a new block production plant built by block maker Thomas Armstrong alongside Carbon8’s aggregate operation, were approved by Leeds City Council this month and work is expected to begin on the facility in August.

When operational, the Carbon8 facility will create over 20 new jobs in the area and the new two-line facility will be capable of transforming 50,000 tonnes of waste flue gas treatment residues (FGTr) from energy from waste facilities into approximately 110,000 tonnes of lightweight secondary aggregate.

The facility will be based on the design of Carbon8’s Avonmouth operation which has just finished undergoing final performance testing as part of the commissioning process.

Stephen Roscoe, the Carbon8’s Technical Director, said: “We’re delighted to have secured the go-ahead for our third facility, the first in the north of England, and believe this confirms our position as the market leader in FGTr recycling.

“We are already in advanced discussions regarding contracts for over 50 per cent of the FGTr into Leeds and, due to the imminent closure of coal-fired power stations in the region, we’re also seeing strong demand from block makers for our aggregate, which will replace the power station ash frequently used in block manufacture.”

RECOUP confirms details for 2016 Plastics Recycling Conference

Cross-sector plastics recycling charity RECOUP (Recycling of Used Plastics Ltd) has confirmed speakers for its annual conference, which this year is taking place on 29 September in Peterborough.

BBC Countryfile and Radio 4 presenter Tom Heap will preside over the main conference session, while other speakers include contributors from all sectors of plastics recycling including brand owners, retailers, waste management, reprocessing, local authorities and government.

RECOUP, CEO, Stuart Foster, said: “There promises to be some interesting and varied debate around plastic resources and recycling and I am looking forward to Tom’s challenging questions sparking thought provoking debate both to the speakers and delegates. RECOUP strives to ensure plastics has a successful future as a sustainable and recyclable resource and the conference provides a valuable vehicle to discuss the issues the sector is facing.”

North London Waste Prevention Exchange shares best practice

Councillor Clyde Loakes (second from left) with the speakers of the North London Waste Prevention Exchange.

This year’s North London Waste Prevention Exchange was held in Islington on Tuesday 16 February and focused on ‘From awareness raising to action’.

Eight speakers from within the waste industry gave a range of presentations sharing best practice on waste prevention and monitoring techniques.

Talks focused on the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package, the psychology behind waste prevention, Scotland’s plans for effective engagement methods regarding the circular economy, and behaviour change initiatives such as the strategic vision for waste prevention behaviour change in London.

The waste prevention exchange also included workshops, information stands and lunch recipes from local residents using leftover ingredients.

Cllr Clyde Loakes, chair of NLWA said: “The annual waste prevention exchange is a great opportunity to get industry experts together to share best practice about the waste industry.

“Waste prevention always has to be top of the waste hierarchy and we need to share information within the industry to try and make sure we use prevention techniques effectively and measure the impact of what we do.”

For further information about the waste prevention exchange, visit the NLWA website.